Higher Education Students from Rural Communities: A Report on Dropping Out.

Brown, Dennis E.

In order that college and university educators and administrators could design a strategy for dealing with rural student dropouts, this study reviewed existing research on rural students who drop out of higher education. Although some research challenges the relationship between persistence in college and rural/urban background, corroborated findings indicated that students from small high schools were more likely to drop out than students from large schools. Some social factors affecting the rural dropout rate are low economic status, low family expectations, and geographic isolation. Little research has been done on rural women students but that which has suggests that rural females may have greater needs than rural male students. Research on rural students' academic ability in higher education presents conflicting views. Non-academic factors, such as the transition from a rural community to a college community, may impact the rural student dropout rate. Although there is abundant research regarding dropout intervention techniques, little is available regarding rural student attrition. Providing specialized campus services for rural and small town students might be one answer. Results of this study strongly suggest the need for research validating causes of the high dropout rate of rural students and the need for research on intervention techniques. (PM)